1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shift control mechanism for small watercraft. More specifically, the present invention relates to a shift control mechanism including a shift control lever for small watercraft which is securely supported by a pair of mounting brackets and a link member for connecting a bowden wire cable to the shift control lever.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal watercraft have become very popular in recent years. This type of watercraft carries a rider and possibly one or more passengers. A relatively small hull of the personal watercraft commonly defines a rider's area above an engine compartment. An internal combustion engine frequently powers a jet propulsion unit which propels the watercraft. The engine is disposed within the engine compartment in front of a tunnel formed on the underside of the watercraft hull. The jet propulsion unit is located within the tunnel and is driven by the engine.
This type of watercraft offers a wide variety of uses and in order to improve the usability of the watercraft, a shift control mechanism for the watercraft has been provided such that the watercraft can be operated in either a forward direction or a reverse direction. This is accomplished by providing a reverse bucket that cooperates with the discharge nozzle of the jet propulsion unit so as to create a rearward thrust on the watercraft rather than the normal forward thrust. Of course, some type of operator control must be provided so as to permit shifting of the reverse bucket from its normal forward position to its reverse position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,815 discloses a conventional type of shift control mechanism including a shift control lever 33 which is mounted on a deck portion 13 of the watercraft 11 in proximity to the bridge 18. As seen in FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,815, the shift control lever 33 is supported by a mounting bracket on one side of the shift control lever 33 and is rotatably mounted to the mounting bracket by a single mounting shaft or pin. One end of a bowden wire cable 35 is directly attached to the shift control lever 33 and the other end of the bowden wire cable 35 is attached to a reverse thrust bucket 31.
Another conventional type of shift control lever 101, which is similar to the shift control lever 33 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,815, is shown in FIG. 14 of the present application. As seen in FIG. 14 herein, the shift control lever 101 is rotatably mounted to a mounting bracket 102 via a pin or mounting shaft 103, and the mounting bracket 102 is mounted to the hull 104 of a personal watercraft.
Since the shift control lever 33 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,815 and the shift control lever 101 of FIG. 14 of the present application are supported on only one side thereof by the mounting bracket and are rotatably mounted at only one point by the mounting shaft or pin, the shift control levers 33 and 101 are likely to be deflected in a sideways direction or to be bent in the sideways direction when a force is applied thereto. This causes problems such as inhibiting the shift control lever 33 or 101 from being rotated in the forward and reverse directions, damaging the hull of the watercraft, and preventing proper operation of the shift control 33 or 101.
In addition, since the bowden wire cable 35 is directly connected to the shift control lever 33 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,815, via, for example, a set screw, the bowden wire cable 35 is often damaged and must be replaced. When replacement of the bowden wire cable 35 is required, since the bowden wire cable 35 extends through the deck 13, replacement is difficult and time consuming.